The people who brought you the Barack Obama birth-certificate hullabaloo now have a new target: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a man often speculated to be the next Republican vice presidential nominee. While theyre at it, they also have Bobby Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana and perhaps a future presidential candidate, in their sights.

The good news for the birthers is that this suggests they were going after Obama, whose father was a Kenyan national, not because of the presidents political party. The bad news is that this supports the suspicion that they were going after Obama because of his race.

Milbank failed to notice that constitutionalists have objected to the candidacy of Panama-born McCain, Mexico-born George Romney and the presidency of Chester Arthur whose father did not naturalize until after Arthur was born...just like Rubio's dad!

I'll have to check out the comments in WaPo to see how long it takes for this to be pointed out...

Milbank is a jerk. Just because Obama is an illegal alien usurper doesn’t mean that conservatives should abandon the Constitution too.

If the Democrats cheat, lie, and steal, would it really help the country if Republicans did the same thing, just because the Democrats did it?

Rubio doesn’t qualify, and neither does Jindal.

But there is one big difference. Neither Rubio nor Jindal has lied to the people in order to become President. Obama did, with the help of Nancy Pelosi, the DNC, and a complicit press who failed to vet him.

Well, actually I suspect they know just as well as we do that the latest COLB is a forgery, just like the earlier one, and that Obama has covered up all sorts of things, with their eager help.

Historical Note:
The Cuban Refugee Program was authorized by the President of the United States in February 1961. Federal assistance for Cuban refugees had begun in 1960 under President Eisenhower in response to the growing number of Cubans fleeing the Castro regime. President John F. Kennedy, recognizing that the situation was beyond the scope of individual states and volunteer agencies, assigned responsibility to the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), at the time Abraham Ribicoff, who delegated implementation and administration to William L. Mitchell, Commissioner of Social Security. The Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, enacted in 1962, provided the legislative basis for the program and authorized appropriations. The Florida State Department of Public Welfare, representing the federal government, set up an office in Miami for the assistance, child welfare services and medical care of Cuban refugees.

The Miami Cuban Refugee Emergency Center, located at the Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Boulevard, became the focal point of refugee registration, assistance, relief and resettlement, as well as coordination of government and independent agencies programs. Federal funding provided for the centers operations, record keeping, publications, coordination of agencies and research on different aspects of the refugee situation, as well as for programs. The latter included financial assistance, educational loans, health care, adult education and re-training, resettlement and care of unaccompanied children. By 1962 between 1500 and 2000 Cubans were arriving weekly.

In 1963 the newly formed Welfare Administration succeeded Social Security in overseeing the Cuban Refugee Program. The decrease in influx of refugees following the cessation of regular flights and the implementation of programs such as home visits facilitated the transition from crisis response to a more efficient, better organized program.

In the years to come, however, the program would have to adapt to new emergency situations such as the arrival of Bay of Pigs Brigade 2506 prisoners in 1963 and the Camarioca boatlift of 1965. Perhaps the most taxing year was 1980 when the Mariel boatlift brought more than 125,000 Cubans to the United States. Simultaneously, Haitian refugees had started to arrive in growing numbers. The federal government declared a state of emergency and charged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with processing and assisting the entrants. On July of the same year the Cuban-Haitian Task Force (CHTF) was created to coordinate federal resources in support of county and state efforts, and to address community problems related to the influx of refugees into the Miami area, replacing FEMA in this capacity.

The Center closed its last location on Ponce de Leon Boulevard and 8th Street on July 1994, after more than three decades of providing assistance to thousands of refugees. Its archives were donated to Professor Juan Clark of Miami-Dade College who in turn donated them to the Cuban Heritage Collection.

Rubio meets all qualifications to serve as president of the US.
His parents birthplace are not an issue.

////////////////
You are partially correct. His parents birthplace are not an issue. Their citizenship at the time of his birth is. They were NOT American citizens at the time of his birth which makes him a citizen, not a Natural Born Citizen. Rubio is NOT eligible because he is not a Natural Born Citizen.

14
posted on 10/21/2011 7:29:55 PM PDT
by Crazy ole coot
(Mrs. pelosi, what is the Constitutional sentence for treason??)

Are you sure? I hear that in order to be naturalized, you have to have your parents either born in America or citizens before birth of children. Not sure if either one of those was true on the day of his birth.

States ratify 14th Amendment, granting former slaves citizenship and promising equal protection of the laws

National Archives and Records Administration
Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868.

Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

Milbank is steeped in hatred and racism. The “birther” associations he draws are far weaker than the credible associations tying Bayrock to organized crime.
When Milbank and his ilk are shrieking about birthers, they are clearly hoping to take up band width that could go to looking at the crimes of the w0n.

23
posted on 10/21/2011 7:55:40 PM PDT
by Steamburg
(The contents of your wallet is the only language Politicians understand.)

” proving false the central narrative of Rubios political rise: that he is the son of exiles who fled Cuba under Castro.
In fact, his parents left the island, apparently for economic reasons, 2 1 / 2 years before Castro came to power. “

Apparently the Rubios should have ignored the warning signs of impending doom and waited until it was too late.

Seems to me that it supports just the opposite. No media type seems capable of grasping that it is a Constitutional question and that’s not situational. So whether it is a Marxist Organizer or a Tea Party favorite, “natural born” has a specific meaning and applies regardless or race, color, creed, or political party.

The 14th Amendment has nothing to do with eligibility requirements to be President per Article 2, Section 1, clause 5 of the U.S.Constitution. Natural born citizenship is NOT a type of citzenship. It is an eligibility requirement to be President.

I totally despise Dana Milbank. I saw him on MSNBC with his crewcut and little nerd glasses, and changed the channel in disgust (as I usually do with MSNBC). These smug little commie creeps bashed the birthers for years, and now Dana’s on their side?

My son was born in the UK of parents who were both USA citizens. He is a dual national with two passports. He can hold any office in the United States with the exception of President or Vice President.

Once again you seem to be throwing out the words "natural born" when you consider the Constitutional qualification to be President. Note well that those words do NOT appear in the 14th amendment nor does the subject of Presidential qualification. Rubio's CITIZENSHIP is NOT the issue. His ability to meet the NATURAL BORN CITIZEN qualification IS the issue. You yourself peg the 14th's ratification date at 1868. Almost a decade LATER the Supreme Court actually touched on the subject in the case 88 U.S. 162 - Minor v. Happersett and spoke to what the framers meant by Natural Born while at the same time recognizing the 14th Amendment elsewhere in the case.

At common-law, with the nomenclature of which the framers of the Constitution were familiar, it was never doubted that all children born in a country of parents who were its citizens became themselves, upon their birth, citizens also. These were natives, or natural-born citizens, as distinguished from aliens or foreigners. Some authorities go further and include as citizens children born within the jurisdiction without reference to the citizenship of their parents. As to this class there have been doubts, but never as to the first. For the purposes of this case it is not necessary to solve these doubts.

Yes, the Justices noted that there is a second school of thought and also with their own words say that they were not settling the question. Sadly, SCOTUS ducked the issue and left the doubts in place. So Obama's qualification and therefore Jindal's are much as settled law as anthropogenic global warming is settled science.

You might want to retract your unfounded smear! You are as bad as Milbank.

The whole point of my response to Milbank’s charge of racism is that holding a research-based opinion on what the constitution means is not racist, it is simply logical, especially if applied evenhandedly to all races.

BTW, I love the Miami Cubans...especially the women who rank among the most beautiful I have encountered as a group. I used to supervise a whole department full of them and they were good workers. I got hooked on their AM pick-me-up Cuban coffee. You would drink it from a tiny cup saturated with sugar and packing more caffeine that a Red Bull!

Where in the 14th Amendment does it reference “Natural Born Citizen”? The 14th Amendment “only made citizens” out of former slaves. Were obama or Rubio former slaves?? They sure carry their age quite well.

39
posted on 10/21/2011 8:40:22 PM PDT
by Crazy ole coot
(Mrs. pelosi, what is the Constitutional sentence for treason??)

Do you hear yourselves?
By your reasoning the Blacks that served in Congress in the 1800’s were there ilegally. They were born in the United States but due to the fact that their ancestors were not “natural born” they were not qualified.
By that definition no black descendent from slaves should ever hold office.

Or is there some magic line that is crossed where you finally qualify to be natural born. Since my ancestors were British Knights on one side and French Hugenots on the other side, I guess I’m not actually “natural Born”.

When did their families cross the magical line to become Natural orn Citizens. Since the arguement is that only a natural born father transfers natural born citizenship. At some point. since Rubios Father came from Cuba, the arguement is he is NOT a Natural Born citizen. So will Rubios Son?, Grandson? Great Grandson?

I still want to know how former slaves served in Congress and the Sen. The would not be Classified as Natural Born.

Whether Obama is NBC has never been litigated in a trial on the merits including discovery of all evidence.

I am not a lawyer, but find the analysis of independent lawyer, Leo Donofrio, to be compelling. Donofrio sued to block both Obama and McCain from becoming president, so he proved that he is both non-partisan and not a racist. Donofrio took two cases up to the Supreme Court before Obama was sworn in so Milbank would know this if he had bothered to investigate notable “birther” lawsuits on the NBC issue (as opposed to the birth certificate issue).

it seems even here at FR there are people that cannot comprehend the basic language found in our founding document... or the reason the specific language was used.

if you accept the birth certificate as real... which is the only ‘official’ document showing his father’s citizenship at the time of his birth... all it proves is that 0bama is native born.

in order to be natural born, BOTH parents have to be US citizens at the time of birth. the founders put this language in the Constitution specifically to insure future presidents would not have loyalties to any other country due to parental allegiances. if not for this reason, the founders could have just used the word citizen.

if this is too much to comprehend, might i suggest going over to DU... they use smaller words and don’t bother with laws when it doesn’t suit their needs.

46
posted on 10/21/2011 9:07:54 PM PDT
by sten
(fighting tyranny never goes out of style)

Do you hear yourselves? By your reasoning the Blacks that served in Congress in the 1800s were there ilegally. They were born in the United States but due to the fact that their ancestors were not natural born they were not qualified. By that definition no black descendent from slaves should ever hold office.

Or is there some magic line that is crossed where you finally qualify to be natural born. Since my ancestors were British Knights on one side and French Hugenots on the other side, I guess Im not actually natural Born.

The Natural Born Citizen requirement for presidential eligibility is unique in the Constitution. Citizens who are not NBC are eligible to serve as Senators and Congressmen.

Without more information about your citizenship and your parents' citizenship, it would be difficult to determine whether you are a Natural Born Citizen.

However, your willful ignorance should definitely render you unsuitable for any grown-up position.

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